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Kagoshima

Capital of Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Kyūshū. The city prospered after a castle was constructed there by the Shimazu family in 1602. Many leaders of the Meiji Restoration, such as Saigō Takamori and Ōkubo Toshimichi, were born there. Shiroyama, a hilly section of the city, was the site of the last battle of the Satsuma Rebellion (1877), an uprising against the Meiji government by former samurai. Devastated during World War II, the city has fully recovered. (adapted from Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1993)